Untitled (Nude Study)

Robert Henri's charcoal sketch captures a seated female figure with economical, gestural linework characteristic of early twentieth-century academic practice. Henri, a leading painter and teacher of the Ashcan School, produced hundreds of such studies as teaching tools and explorations of form. The work demonstrates his commitment to direct observation and expressive line—priorities he instilled in students at the Chase School of Art and the Art Students League, where he emphasized drawing from life as foundational to artistic development.